


familiar strangers they do seem (as if merely remnants of dreams)

by oceaneyeslance



Series: altean!lance au [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Angst, Gen, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance (Voltron)-centric, Langst, Sad Lance (Voltron), my boy is confused and in denial
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 16:57:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14453742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oceaneyeslance/pseuds/oceaneyeslance
Summary: The fact that Lance was human used to calm him. Now he doesn’t even think that it’s true.





	familiar strangers they do seem (as if merely remnants of dreams)

When Lance saw Altean symbols for the first time, and he could _read_ them when only Allura and Coran could, he knew something was up.

He understood the letters and words like it was second nature to him. When he asked if the others could read it, they all shook their heads. Later, when Lance thinks back, he should have been more suspicious. Instead, he brushed it off, thinking that his helmet was translating them for him.

When he took his helmet off and still could read the symbols, he decided to forget about it completely.

-

The team was having a ‘clean the castle’ day with Coran, and he kept them entertained by telling stories of Altea and his adventures. During some of Coran’s stories, Lance had the hazy feeling like he’d been there or witnessed them, like some sort of deja vu. And then, when Coran was recalling a story about Alfor defeating a huge serpent-like creature with Voltron, Lance knew exactly how it ended.

It hit him like a punch to the face. _He knew how the story ended_. He didn’t even know what Alfor looked like before, but now he vaguely remembers white hair and a strong voice, as he held a calloused hand in his own, and he told tales of his journeys and the monsters he’s fought, as Lance looked at him with utmost respect like he was his hero, and then it was gone.

His knees felt weak and he balanced himself on the wall, taking deep breaths when he realized that he had stopped breathing. He looked around; nobody noticed his mini freak out, which was good. Lance had no clue what was going on, but whatever he was experiencing was _not_ normal. 

Lance excused himself for a moment and basically ran to the library and started searching for Altean history books. They of course weren’t in English, but Lance could read them anyway, for reasons he did not understand. 

When he found a picture of Alfor, the book slipped out of his hands and fell to the floor.

_How did he know what he looked like when he had been dead for 10,000 years and had never seen him before?_

-

When Lance brought up the weird flashback thingies he was having to Blue, it was like she zipped up her mouth and wouldn’t answer him.

It was very frustrating to get the cold shoulder from a giant sentient robot lion, so he left her alone. Lance was confused though; Blue never ignored him or stopped talking. She was very chatty, like Lance, so when she completely shut down he knew something was up now. Blue was keeping something from him.

At first, he wanted to ignore the fact that he could understand Altean and knew stories that he thought he’d never heard before, but now he was determined to find out what was happening to him.

-

Lance believed he was human all of his life. He wanted to believe that. He _knew_ he couldn’t be Altean; the planet was destroyed 10,000 years ago along with everyone besides Allura and Coran. He couldn’t be Altean. Allura and Coran didn’t seem to remember him at all either.

But the evidence was all there. And Lance didn’t want to believe it.

He kept looking for an answer when he knew it was right in front of him the whole time.

-

Lance started to veer away from the library. There were too many Altean symbols that he didn’t want to be able to read, and too many history books where he already knew what happened.

He avoided the castle’s computers and kept his eyes on the ground so he couldn’t see the symbols on the walls. Soon he started to steer clear of Allura and Coran. Whenever he saw their faces he would be thrown into another random memory that he didn’t want to remember. The others started to notice after a few days, but they didn’t say anything yet.

The fact that Lance was human used to calm him. Now he doesn’t even think that it’s true.

-

Late in the night, when his memories and flashbacks kept him up, he decided to finally see if he was Altean. He still doesn’t want to know, and just live in a fantasy world where he is human and _only_ human, where his family is his real family, and where he wasn’t alive 10,000 years ago before Altea was destroyed and he somehow escaped.

But something pulled him to check, so before he knew it he was in the infirmary and searching for something to scan his DNA. He reluctantly read the machines until he found something to take his fingerprint. He figured it was enough, and started it up.

Lance looked at his shaking hands as the machine whirred to life. A glowing screen lit up, telling him in Altean to insert either a saliva sample, blood, or a fingerprint. He slowly pressed his pointer finger where the machine told him to, and a loading symbol similar to a buffering sign on Earth appeared on the screen. The next few seconds felt like the longest seconds of Lance’s life. He held his breath and stared with wide eyes at the screen as it finished scanning him.

At the top of the screen in bold Altean symbols, it said: “ _ **DNA MATCH: PRINCE LEANDRO OF ALTEA.**_ ”

Lance thoroughly passed out when he read the words that would change his life.

-

_“Leandro, what did I tell you about sneaking into Blue’s hangar?”_

__

_A man stood in the jaw of the blue lion, observing his son as he shrunk into the pilot’s chair._

__

_“I know, Papa, but I wanted to talk to her! She’s so cool, and she likes me a lot!” The boy said, and Blue rumbled with laughter._

__

_The man laughed as well. “I think you’re becoming her favourite, Leandro. Blaytz is definitely getting jealous of you.”_

__

_Leandro’s chest puffed with pride. His father chuckled and lifted him up onto his back._

__

_“Come now, Leandro. You can talk to Blue later, but right now the paladins have to train with the lions,” his father told him. “Red is getting impatient, and you know how he can get. He always ignores me whenever I start training late!”_

__

_Leandro giggled and rested his head onto his father’s shoulder. “I know, Papa. It’s really funny when Red gets mad at you.”_

__

_“Salt in the wound, Leandro.”_

__

_They laughed as they left the hangar. Leandro looked back at Blue and smiled when she let out a disappointed noise._

__

_“Aw, don’t worry, Blue!” Leandro yelled to her as he left the hangar._

__

_“I’ll be back soon.”_

-

Lance jolted upright when the memory faded. His hand clutched his chest as his breathing slowly went from panicked to calm. He wiped at his face, unaware that he had started crying until he woke up.

He looked around. He wasn’t in the infirmary anymore. Instead he was in the lounge room, with all of the paladins, including Allura and Coran, sitting across from him. They’re faces were… shocked, at least that’s what Lance thought. Allura looked stricken as she stared at his face.

“ _Um… what are you guys doing?_ ” Lance asked. His voice sounded strange as he said the words, and then it clicked.

He was speaking in Altean.

His panicking started all over again. “ _What’s happening?! I can’t speak English--why can’t I speak English?!_ ” He yelled, startling the others enough to break them out of their dazed state. Lance was standing now, he didn’t even remember getting up, and then he caught his reflection in the glass window next to him.

His hair was a stark white. His eyes were a bright, unnatural blue, and two light blue triangular markings had appeared underneath them. His ears were pointed, like Allura and Coran’s.

He was Altean.

Lance stared at his reflection as everything came back to him.

_King Alfor was his father._

__

_His name was Leandro._

__

_The planet was shaking._

__

_Screams echoed around him._

__

_His father pushed him into Blue._

__

_His sister wasn’t with him._

__

_Blue, please, let me out._

__

_He can’t stop crying._

__

_He saw his own planet explode._

__

_His father was dead._

__

_Everyone was gone; all he ever knew was gone._

__

_Where am I going?_

__

_Somewhere far away._

__

_He was bleeding from his head._

__

_Blue told him to rest in the pod._

__

_He woke up 10,000 years later._

-

Lance, Leandro-- _who even cares_ \--sat on the couch with a blank expression on his face.

Someone was saying something about the pods removing some of their memory from being used for too long. Lance barely listened. Blue knew who he really was. Why couldn’t she tell him? Did his family know that he wasn’t human? Why did they all _lie_?

He didn’t know what to think anymore. He lost Altea, he lost his father and everyone he ever loved, and then he lost his Earth family after that. He lost everything.

Allura, _his sister_ , was only looking at him. Her lip quivered and her eyes were watery. Did she remember who he was now? Or was she just happy to have another Altean alive? Lance didn’t know. A part of him didn’t care. What was the point of being Altean if he forgot he ever was one?

“Lance.”

He flinched slightly and finally looked up. Coran was looking at him with a look he couldn’t place. “Do you want to talk about why this is happening?”

Lance almost laughed. Then he almost started crying, which then caused him to want to punch something. He spoke, his throat sore and his voice hoarse, “I guess I’ve never been human.”

“We don’t know that yet,” Coran said. “It could be some odd virus or a spell or-”

“No.” Lance looked down again. The urge to scream and sob was overwhelming. “I remember _everything_. I can fucking read Altean, I can speak in Altean, and I remember every single story you’ve ever told like you said it to me before. I-” He cleared his throat. “I kept having flashbacks to memories from Altea the past week. At first it was really vague, just figures and colours, but now… I remember everything.”

Coran had an unreadable face, but he did look very serious. “If you want to, could you tell us what you remember?”

Lance’s eyes darkened. He remembered _screams and crying and terror and death and the rotten smell of blood._ His… home, destroyed. “My name was… or is, I guess, Leandro.” Nothing seemed to click in Allura or Coran’s mind, so he supposed they hadn’t remembered him yet. “I, um… My father. I had a lot of flashbacks about him. From my memories, he and I look very similar. We have the same colour hair,” he looked at Allura. “And the same colour eyes. But, his markings… they were green.”

“Lance, who was he?” Allura breathed out, and Lance noticed that her leg was bouncing up and down slightly.

“He was… he was the king of Altea,” Lance said softly. “He was Alfor. He was my father too.”

Coran gasped and Allura started to cry silently, and yet she smiled through it. “I always had a suspicion,” she said, her voice shaking. “You looked so familiar, like you were family, and now… Lance, now I _remember_.”

He couldn’t take it anymore. He sobbed, burying his face into his hands. Allura was quickly beside him, hugging him tightly. “It’s okay, Lance. You’re okay.”

He laughed wetly.

“If you want,” he said, “you can call me Leandro.”

**Author's Note:**

> i didn't even realize i was making this full of angst before i was almost done lmao woOPS
> 
> tumblr: https://ocean-eyes-lance.tumblr.com/ OR https://mortdoggy.tumblr.com/
> 
> instagram: mortdoggy


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